An autistic man who was removed from his family home died when he choked on a piece of gammon in the care home he was forced into.

Mark Bailey died in June last year when he choked on the meat at a specialist care centre in Staffordshire.

Sheila and Charles Bailey claim their son would still be alive today if a family court had ruled in their favour in 2011.

Mrs Bailey said: 'The social services through the council have totally destroyed our lives.'

Mark Bailey, 40, (right) died when he choked on a piece of gammon at a specialist care centre - his parents (left) claim their son would still be alive today if he had been allowed to continue living at the family home

Mark Bailey moved to the Choices care home, in Staffordshire (pictured) in October 2012 when Stoke-on-Trent City Council secured a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard through the courts - but he died in June 2013

The 40-year-old was removed from his Penkhull home in 2011 when his condition deteriorated and concerns were raised over whether his parents could still look after him.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council secured a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard (DOLS) through the courts, which was later ratified by a Court of Protection judge.

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It allows a person to be detained for their own protection in a care home and was needed after Mrs Bailey refused to voluntarily place her son in a care setting.

Mark was moved to the Choices care home, in Staffordshire, at the end of October 2012 and died in June 2013.

An inquest yesterday heard Mark choked on a piece of gammon and suffered a heart attack and brain damage. His life-support machine was switched off a week later.

Mark died when he choked on a piece of gammon and suffered a heart attack and brain damage

Mrs Bailey said: 'When he was moved, he asked me when he would be allowed to come home and it just broke my heart'

Mark, pictured at his sister, Nicola's wedding in 1987 - she said Mark was always very friendly and smiling

And today, his parents said their son would still be alive today if he had not been taken away from them.

Mrs Bailey, 75, said: 'He would still be here today if he had stayed at home. We brought him up and looked after him for nearly 40 years. No-one can look after your own child as well as you. I just wanted him back.

'But at first they put the DOLS order on him for four months and then it was for another four months. It just kept going on and on.'

'When he was moved he asked me when he would be allowed to come home, and it just broke my heart.

'He used to love Christmas, and we put up all the decorations for him to come back over that time, but the social services wouldn't even bring him round for Christmas, so we just took all the decorations down again.

'We were still quite capable of looking after him, but we have been treated so badly by the social services.'

Mark, aged 15, pictured with friends in a production of the musical 'Oklahoma' (he is on the far right)

Mark's sister Nicola, said: 'Mark was very friendly, he was always smiling and people used to call him "Smiler"'

Mark was removed from his Penkhull home in 2011 when his condition deteriorated and concerns were raised over whether his parents could still look after him

Restrictions were later placed on Mrs Bailey, limiting her to just supervised visits after she attempted to take Mark on a day trip from the care home.

She added: 'One time, all I wanted was to take him to a coffee morning, but they didn't let him go because they said they hadn't got enough staff to take him.

'I said I could take him on my own, but they wouldn't let me.

'Eventually they said they would call the police because I wouldn't leave without him.

'I haven't been to visit him in the cemetery yet, because I just think of him with tubes in him when we had to switch off the life-support machine. It was heartbreaking.'

'I wasn't living in the area at the time and when my dad went to see Mark my mum got upset. I can understand why social services went for the DOLS order but it caused us a lot of issues.

'Mark was very friendly, he was always smiling and people used to call him 'Smiler'. He would approach strangers and shake hands with them.'

Choices managing director Nigel Downs said: 'Our sincere sympathies go to Mark's family. We are dedicated to providing high-quality care and we continue to reflect on all our procedures.

'It is very distressing to all concerned when we experience a very rare incident occurring like this.'

Stoke-on-Trent City Council councillor Gwen Hassall, cabinet member for social care, said: 'Mark Bailey was subject to DOLS issued by the Court of Protection, and the city council had no concerns about the provider or the placement.

'His death was a tragic accident, and our heartfelt condolences go out to his family.'

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Autistic man died after choking on piece of meat in Staffordshire home